“But, Dad, I don’t want to work on my backhand? When am I ever going to use it?”

“Have a seat in front of the YouTube, son, and let me show you a little something from Game 4 of the Sens-Pens series from 2013.”

If you’re going to accomplish something remarkable, like, oh, say, becoming the quickest active NHL player to score 40 playoff goals, you might as well do it in style.

In just his 77th postseason contest, Sidney "Nursing a Broken Jaw" Crosby's 40th playoff goal was both beautiful and significant.

Arriving just 31 seconds after teammate Pascal Dupuis scored in the third period to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 5-2, Crosby's nifty toe-drag-to-backhand-shelf left Sens defenceman Chris Phillips on his knees, chased the usually stellar Craig Anderson from the game -- for the second time in this series -- and essentially jammed a nail in Ottawa's coffin.

Entire articles have been written on Crosby's backhand, a skill he has practised ad nauseum, to the point where he's just as comfortable taking a shot with either side of his blade -- which is only slightly curved for this very purpose.

"It's the best," former Penguins goalie Brent Johnson told triblive.com last season. "By far the best I've ever seen. It's so powerful, and he can hit his spot every time. That's something you don't see with backhands."

I'm pretty sure Crosby's backhand snipe was the best goal of the playoffs

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